Dustin Ellis was relaxing outside of his parents' house in Bradenton last week, when he witnessed a neighbor's house being robbed.
“He got past us and I heard that the gentlemen robbed a ladies house," said Ellis. "I started chasing him down the sidewalk.”
Ellis, a Marine who served in Afghanistan until 2012, ended up chasing the suspect through the neighborhood. He even had to climb through fences. Ellis has a brown belt in Marine Corps martial arts.
When he tracked down the suspect, he realized that he had a screw driver in his hand. Thanks to his Marine background, he knew just what to do.
“I came up from behind him, I took the screwdriver from him and then I put him on the ground," he said. "When I did, he was on his hands and knees and dropped to his stomach. From there I then rolled him over in a sitting position and grabbed him by his hoodie.”
Ellis held him until law enforcement arrived. They arrested the suspect later identified as 28-year-old Raymond Washburn of Bradenton. Dustin says even though he felt prepared to handle the situation, it was still scary.
“I didn’t know if the gentlemen had a gun or anything like that,” he said.
Still, he knows he did the right thing.
“We have a lot of people in the world who work hard for what they have, and I just wanted to help someone not get robbed," he said. "It's just a horrible thing to do to somebody.”
Ellis’ stepfather said he is extremely proud of his son, but his courageous act does not surprise him.
“Don’t mess with a Marine," said his stepfather Smokey Daniels. "Once a Marine, always a Marine.”
Ellis is currently working as a volunteer fire fighter but is looking for work full time so that he can continue to devote his life to helping others stay safe.
Raymond Washburn was charged with a number of charges including aggravated assault.